She shook her head but I didn’t miss the look of panic in her eyes before she shuttered it. “We weren’t going to do this tonight, remember? Talk.”
I suddenly wanted to get to the root of whatever the hell was eating her up inside. And I knew I couldn’t do that if we were otherwise occupied between the sheets. Maybe after she had her fill of me, she’d finally be able to let her guard down and start to let me in. I prayed for that because I couldn’t stand being locked out anymore. I needed to get inside her head. I needed her to trust me with her heart.
She distracted me with a kiss, pushing me back against the wall in the hallway on the way to the bedroom. I let her side-track me, knowing it was pointless to push before she was ready to talk.
I absorbed her soft moans in my mouth, threading my hands through her hair as I tried like hell to maintain my composure, but it was pointless to try and leash it with Briar. She destroyed me every time she touched me and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I need you now,” she whispered, hauling her lips from mine. “So, unless we’re going to do it right here, against this wall, I suggest we make our way to the bedroom.” She didn’t wait for me to respond before slipping her hand through mine and leading me the few feet to the master.
I slammed the door before she flicked the switch, dimming the lights. When I raised an eyebrow she said softly, “I want to watch you.”
She gave little hints, like that one that she was in deeper than she wanted to be. This wasn’t all about the sex anymore. For either one of us. She was trying to read my mind through my eyes. She wanted to watch me let go because she knew she was the only one capable of getting under my skin and she loved bearing witness to my slow and steady downfall.
“First I’m going to watch you,” I said, walking her towards the bed. I pushed her back gently, letting the mattress cushion her fall while I watched her breasts bounce with the impact. Something about this girl brought out the animal in me and I didn’t want to harness it. I wanted to let go, to desecrate her with my hunger, satisfying the ache she’d triggered when she drew me into her private world and made me a prisoner to my feelings for her.
“You can take those off,” I said, letting my gaze dip to her panties. “Or I can tear them off. Your choice.”
She sucked in a breath, her eyes never leaving mine as she slid them over her hips, down her legs, before releasing her bra’s front clasp and tossing that aside. Her legs eased open, issuing a silent invitation before her hands crawled over her abdomen, circling her breasts while she waited for me to make my move.
I hit my knees, intent on worshipping her the way I’d been fantasizing about all week. The first taste was tentative while I waited for her reaction. She rewarded me with a breathless cry and plea. But I had no intention of making this easy for her. No rush to the finish line tonight. I wanted to punish her… for every cold shower. For every time I’d taken matters into my own hands. For every morning I’d woken up to an empty bed. For every promise she’d broken. For every woman I’d slept with while fantasizing about her. I had a lot of bitterness inside of me and tonight she was going to experience the brunt of it.
Every swipe of my tongue made her gasp. Every dip made her beg. Every circular roll of my tongue over that sweet bud made her breathless. And I was just getting started.
Agonizingly slow, drawing out every sweet second of torture until she was thrashing, ready to crawl out of her skin. That’s when I added a finger to the mix, followed by another. Pumping slowly, slower still when she pleaded with me to finish her off. I hooked my fingers, finding her sweet spot and she cursed me, making it hard to suppress a smile while I continued lashing her with my tongue.
Every time she got close, I pulled back. I knew I was being a bastard, but she’d earned it. No woman had ever tortured me the way this woman had and it was time for her to take her punishment like a big girl. I knew she could handle it. Even if it meant slowly driving her out of her mind.
“I can’t,” she whispered, rolling her hips, an agonizing rumble building in her throat. “Rhett, pleassseeeee—”
I was only human, and hearing the object of my fantasies plead for her release like that proved to be my breaking point, so I sent her hurtling over the edge as she screamed my name. But for good measure, I extended her distress, licking her all the way through her release.
“Oh my god,” she panted, flattening her hand over her heaving chest. “I think I’m going to pass out.”
I chuckled as I moved up her body, zeroing in on her breasts. She was incredibly sensitive so I knew when my mouth closed over her nipple the sensations would shoot straight to her core.
“Rhett,” she whined, tugging on my hair. “Give a girl a chance to catch her breath, you beast.”
I ignored her appeal, plumping her breasts in my hand, laving one puckered tip at a time before sucking deep, grazing with my teeth, and swirling with my tongue. We’d been doing this a long time. I knew what it took to wreck her and how to piece her back together again. Tonight? I intended to break her. Break down every fragile wall still shielding her from me. Break the lock on her thoughts. Break the catch securing all the words she’d never have the courage to say. Break the latch on the secret place all her dreams hid. She’d give it all to me tonight, or I’d die trying.
“I… oh… uh…”
She was babbling, a sure sign she was lost in that place where censoring herself wasn’t even possible anymore. She was a prisoner to her own body now and I held the key to her freedom.
I moved up to her neck, finding that spot that made her eyes roll back as she clawed at my back. Her nails were digging in so deep I was pretty sure she was breaking the skin and I didn’t give a shit. I wanted words tonight. The ones I saw every time she looked at me, but had been too afraid to say.
I slowly dragged my mouth to hers when I felt her body tremble beneath mine. Pinning her arms over head in one of my hands, I eased over so I wasn’t crushing her. My free hand travelled down her body while my mouth explored hers. And by explored I mean plundered. Stealing her breath. Her words. Her sanity.
My fingers swirled between her legs, demanding she give it up for me again. But rapid-fire had been banished from my vocabulary tonight. The mind-numbing slow build was the end goal. I’d make her work for every sought-after O tonight. Work for it like her life depended on it because I had a feeling our relationship was hanging in the balance. If she wasn’t willing to start fighting, I was done. This girl had me chasing tail long enough.
“Last chance,” I whispered in her ear. I knew it was only fair to lay my cards on the table. Let her know the stakes. “You give it up for me, Briar. Or this is it. Our last night together.”
Her eyes widened in shock as she curled her hand around my wrist. “What?”
I crawled on top of her, knowing there was only one way to make my point. Speaking the language Briar understood. “You heard me. This is your last chance. Tell me how you feel about me. Show me.”
I’d promised myself I wouldn’t push her to talk tonight. But I had too much self-respect to continue torturing myself with a woman who only wanted my body. I wanted, and deserved more from her.
“What are you saying?” I could have sworn she was holding her breath when she whispered, “You’re going to cut me out of your life, just like that, if I don’t tell you… what? That I have feelings for you?”
